Being a native of Greenville, South Carolina, I am very excited for some of the offerings in the Huberman and Fairmont Collections, selling at Stack’s Bowers Galleries in April 2022. In these two sales, we have a multitude of Charlotte and Dahlonega gold coins, most of which are of Condition Census quality. Let’s look at four that stand out to me.
Lot 3081 – 1854-D Three-Dollar Gold Piece, Winter 1-A, AU-55 (NGC), from the Huberman Collection
Mostly found in lower grades and with weak strikes, the AU-55 example of this tough year exhibits bold features and crisp details. There is feathering to the edges, which one would expect on this date, but overall it is a pleasing coin from a small mintage of 1,120 pieces.
Lot 5010 – 1838-D Classic Head Half Eagle, Winter 1-A, AU-53+, CAC (PCGS), from the Fairmont Collection Hendricks Set
This vivid examples comes to us from the first year of half eagle production at the Dahlonega Mint. As a fun fact, all 20,583 coins struck in 1838 from the Dahlonega Mint were struck from a single die pair. As a result, most are in poor condition and heavily circulated.
Lot 5012 – 1839-C Liberty Head Half Eagle, Winter 1, AU-50 (PCGS), from the Fairmont Collection Hendricks Set
This piece is well known for being the only Liberty Half Eagle to feature the mintmark on the obverse of the coin. This issue ranks within the top 10 for rarity in the Charlotte Mint half eagle series, per Doug Winter, and survivors in grades above VF are elusive.
Lot 5028 – 1843-C Liberty Head Half Eagle, Winter-2, MS-61, CAC (PCGS), from the Fairmont Collection Hendricks Set
There were 44,277 coins minted in Charlotte in 1843, and most of them exist in grades of VF or lower. There appear to only be 9 or 10 examples in Mint State grades, and only two of them have been CAC approved.
